


Data Rigged

by burlesque_articulation



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, alternate universe - freeform, blrb 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 04:34:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14128179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burlesque_articulation/pseuds/burlesque_articulation
Summary: This was unfamiliar. He was actually... feeling. At first it was just like a surge of energy through his core, but then it relaxed into a sort of fuzzy, tingling sensation- he honestly didn't know how to describe it. Other then it felt very, very, good. He didn't bother trying to open his eyes; after all what good would it do since he didn't technically have a physical form.His thoughts on that matter quickly changed however, when he felt hands press against his face- his hands, against his face; like physically. "That's damn freaky," he muttered, finally opening his eyes- only to see that his form was still the same holographic blue it had been the last time he'd given himself a one-over. "So what's changed, baby? What's new-" he paused, taking a look around that soon brought a smile to his lips."Oh, now that is interesting." Very, very interesting... "Looks like Daddy is comin' back, baby."- Reverse Bang collab w/ likikoari-art !!!





	Data Rigged

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the art by [http://likikoari-art.tumblr.com]() !!!
> 
> Check out the artwork [[here]](https://likikoari-art.tumblr.com/post/172351785317/hey-yall-commin-at-ya-with-some-art-for) !

 

 

"There's nowhere to run, Rhys. I can get you anywhere you go- at any time. And _nothing_ can stop me."

Everything seemed to have a surreal twist to it- like the air around him had weight, and texture; and all of it was designed to suffocate him. He couldn't even force a sound to pass his lips as his vision continued to blur, and his tongue felt heavy in his mouth.

"I control everything- _ **e̴͏̦͉͚̪͎̬̺͕v̴̷͖͙̞͚̺͈̦̦͓e̸̷͙̪̯̯̺r̡͚̫̲͙̮̰̤̳̥y͙̮̙̥͚̗̼͍t̮̝͎͕͡ͅh̡̤̹̩̗i̛̝̻̟͙͇͉̩̠̰n̷͖̠̰̬̳̦g̷̤̯̟͍̥ͅ**_ ."

He was gasping, trying to force air that wasn't there into his lungs- but no matter how much he felt the burn in his chest, and the fear knot his stomach- he wasn't failing, he was still holding on. Almost like no matter what happened, it wouldn't be enough to actually end him.

_ Something's wrong... this isn't right, this isn't how it's supposed to go, something's wrong… _

"No- no, no, no- what are you doing? What are you _doing_. Stop, stop it, please, please don't do that- _don't!_ You _can't! Stop it!_ **_Don't! Not A̵͜͞G̶̡̕͢A̧͘I̴̶̢͜͡N͟͜ ̡̛͢͢!͢͢͞!"_**

 

  
  
*̞̼͉̩̙͎̬̻̻̓̄̊̍̅̊͊̆ͧ̈*̜͖̮̩̮͓̱̠̉̈ͥ̀*̙͈͕͚̟̟̖̥̫̲̟̮̄̎̇ͬ̋́ͤͦ̋*͙͚̝̪͓̱ͬͮ̊̎ͬ͊ͯ̐̐͌ͅ*̹̼̫͚̙͍͛̾͂͆ͨͧ̿̓ ͓̥̞̲̦̫̖̟̩̟̟̜̣͙̪̜̹̖͛̓̋̾̉̓̒ͤ̄͂ͥ͊̔͒ͥ̈ͨͅ ̣̰͎͙̠̭͉̺ͬ͋ͥ͗͑̏̈͆͂ͪ̓ͫͅ ̤̣̩̯̠͙̱̳̼͈̞̥ͫ͂́̾̏̒͒ͬ͛͑̃̇̾̚ ̳̰̝͓͕̹̖̑ͬ̀ͧͫ ̜̘̩̹̾ͦ̉̈͒ͦ̓ͪ̃̾̑ͬ͑͂͂̑̇̄ͩ*͍͚̥̹̘̺̜̭͑͒͂͌͑̐̊̊ͭ͂*̘̠̘̙̳̩̠͕̜͉̩̩̬̟̐ͣͯ̅ͨͪ̽͒̄̆ͩ̽*̝̬͕̣̲͚͔̖̈́ͯ̑ͧ̒ͥ̾ͤͮ̈̓̅̂͌̓͛*͖͕̘͕̙̻͕̞́ͮͯ͗̌͑ͬ̉̑̈́ͥ*̞͖̠̤̠̖͉̜͇͉͈̥̃ͪ̑ͣ̓͒͊ ͙̖͙͕͖͈̥͓̮̫̜̙͇̳̞͎́͛̋̌́ͮ͛ͥ̊ͦ̋ͫ̔ ̪͈̬͚̥͖͉̦ͬ̓̄̿̉̀̃͒̈́̾͂͑̎ ͈̳̤̩̺̲̙͔ͭ̽̓̅̊ͮ́͂̔͆ͩ̀̆́̑ͮ ͙̼̜͙̼̖͙̜̹̲̽̏͂͋ ̪̝͖̳͖̩͔̦͔̺͕ͭ̇ͮ̅ͧͣ̂̌̾*̙̜͖̮̗̯͙̤͎̞̯͍͚ͤ̅͆̉*̩̼͍͔͕͚͈͕̈́̎̍͗ͫͯͪ͊̈̿ͮ͌ͥ̏̉̄ͤ̎*̥͎͚̲̱̖̦̬̲̣̦͍̂̂́̇̚*̗͍͙̫̮̭̺̮͓̺̭͉̦͕̹̄̉͗͂̓ͪ͑ͅ*̤̦̯̮̫͎̮̖̘ͩ͂ͮͬ͑̈̑

 

 

He felt dizzy, like a veil had fallen over his mind as he stood up from the desk; like this had all happened before somehow.

"Time to see which is mighty- the pen or the punch, cupcake."

That sounds so familiar, but when... why? Rhys felt his hand curl around the handle of his stun baton- that didn't feel right.  _ No, wait- I know I can talk to her, so why am I...? _ Yvette had already turned to eye him, only rolling her eyes at first as she faced him. "Really? A stun rod... wait a second- that looks just like... just like the one I gave Rhys."

Rhys felt a shift in his feelings towards the situation.  _ So she can remember a stun baton- but not all the years of friendship we had. Amazing _ . He reached up to turn off his voice modulator as he looked her dead in the eye. "Hello, Yvette," he preened in his real voice, still advancing toward her.

It was almost comical how wide her eyes got as it finally clicked as to why "Vasquez" had been acting just a little bit off. "Oh.. shit..."

Rhys gave her a less than apologetic smile as he covered the distance in one more step, activating the baton just before bring it up to connect with her stomach and knocking her to the side.

"Damn, kid! Nice moves, Rhysie."

He still didn't feel quite right as he looked down at Yvette's limp form curled up on the floor. Like something was missing, or off.

"You gonna shock her again? Cause if so, I'm all for it- but otherwise you might want to get your ass moving in case security shows up." Jack started talking over Rhys' own thoughts, at the very least snapping Rhys back into his current situation.

"Right... right." Rhys cleared his throat, tucking the baton away and stepping over Yvette to leave the office, in more of a hurry then what would have appeared naturally had anyone been paying attention. He wasn't more than a few steps before he started receiving an echo from Fiona. "Rhys here, how are things going on your end again?"

_ "Uh, still locked out of Handsome Jack's office and in need of a new plan, Rhys. You feeling alright?" _

"Yeah, yeah... just had a little run in with Yvette. Didn't go the greatest, she kind of sold us out, so y'know, let's focus on making a new plan." 

_ "Well, friends are few when money is on the table, Rhys. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry." _

"It's fine, really. Let's just get the Gortys Piece and get out of here. The sooner the better, right?"

" _ Right _ ." There was a pause, then Fiona asked,  _ "so how are we going to do that exactly now? Still locked out and all..." _

"Yeah, you'll have to give me a second to think about that... I'm for thinking that there must be some kind of panel somewhere that will let us access the local grid that controls the doors to his office, but I honestly can't even begin to imagen where."

"Wow, you must not be thinking with all four cylinders if that's the best you can come up with, kitten. Yvette must've really gotten to ya- although if I were you I would've-" Jack started talking the moment Rhys had stopped walking, much to the company man's annoyance.

"Thankfully I'm not you- and can you leave Yvette out of this?" Rhys snapped at him.

"Uh, Rhys, no one was talking about Yvette. I- wait, you're talking Jack right now, aren't you?"

"Yup, and he's... he..." Rhys came to a complete hold, possibly not even breathing as he replayed Fiona's last question.  _ How does she know about Jack? I didn't tell her about him... di͜͞d͏̷͘ i̸ ?̴̡ When? _

"Rhys? Hell-ooo? Did you cut out or something?" Fiona talked into his ear.

"Yeah, buddy what's the deal, you're lookin' pretty out of it, cupcake." Jack seemed to have noticed his sudden absence as well.

"I- I just... Fiona when did I tell you about Jack?" Rhys turned, his back to the window Jack was floating in front of, his brow creased as he tried to conjure up the memory before she responded, but had no luck.

"Like less than an hour ago? Before we left- Rhys are you sure you're okay?"

Rhys rubbed a hand against his forehead, trying his best to think of an excuse but he couldn't seem to get his mouth and brain to work together. "It's nothing- I'll call you back in a second though, Jack keeps trying to tell me something and it's getting hard to concentration." It was a bold face lie since Jack was actually being quiet for once.

"Well, alright. But don't bug out on me now, okay?"

"Okay, just hold tight." Rhys stepped back until he could relax against the wall of the hallway, squeezing his eyes shut for a second before he let out a long exhale and finally turned back to where Jack was actually still standing. He eyed the hologram for a good few seconds, still frowning as he asked, "did we bury the hatchet?"

Jack blinked at him, at least six times before tilting his head slightly. "What?"

"Just... answer the question. Did I... do I, trust you?"

For a moment Jack's gaze shifted into a glare, until he looked away from Rhys, crossing his arms and pretending to slouch against the window. "No. Since the beginning you've been pretty anti-Jack, kid. In the Gortys facility you decided to take Fiona's side of things. Then on the roof the caravan you basically told me to shove it. And every time I try to help you, you're basically a total ass in response."

He didn't know how to respond to that. While it sounded like how Rhys would like to act toward the obnoxious AI, it didn't actually sound like him. "But... when we went back to Old Haven- you did ask if we... if we could bury the hatchet, if we could finally work something out- work together- didn't you?"

Jack eyed him again. "I did."

"Okay, and?"

Jack sighed, "and nothing. Your response was vague at best. You again stated that you didn't trust me, and... well, actually you said that you'd give me a chance- but then you backed it up as being only because we were going to Helios. So, no, I wouldn't say we buried the hatchet. But you did agree to partner with me while we were on Helios. Now; are you sure you're doin' okay, kiddo?"

"I... don't actually know... but forget about it- you were going to tell me something weren't you?"

Jack tilted his head again, "was I?"

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, at the very least we have to troubleshoot a way into your office now that security has every door up there in lookdown." Rhys laid his head back against the wall, closing his eyes as he tried to think of a plan himself- but was quick to realize he wasn't going to have any luck. Thankfully, Jack seemed ready for this moment.

"Oh, that's right, I do have a solution to your problem- and I think you're gonna like it a lot, kid."

"Great, I already hate it now."

"Grow up, and listen close," when Rhys blinked his eyes back open, Jack had materialized not to far from his face. "My office has a trap door- surprise, surprise- and since everything is in lockdown, it's gonna be your only way in since it runs on a completely separate grid."

"Whoa, slow down- you have trap door in your office? Isn't that just a little bit too cliche- even for you?"

Jack opened his mouth, almost as though he were about to defend himself; or his aesthetic, but thought the better of it and just shook his head instead. "Look, kid, it's you're only way into my office, so get over yourself. Now things you'll need to know is that you can access the Jack Hole from the prison level, but you're gonna need that con artist babe of yours to meet you there since opening the hatch is a two person job. But, once you have all the security disabled, it's straight up the chute and you're in my office and you can get the Gortys piece."

"You make it sound easy, but I feel like it really isn't going to be."

"You'd be mostly right. A lot of people have died there- but lucky you, you'll have me to keep an eye on you."

"Great. I feel invincible now." Rhys replied sarcastically. "I'll give Fiona the good the news, and tell her to go get arrested so she can meet me there then."

"Sounds good, cupcake. Let's go Team Jack."

Rhys squinted at him, "what?"

Jack waved him off. "Don't worry about it, they'll get it."

"And who is " _ they _ "?"

"You'll see." Because that didn't sound ominous or anything. But before Rhys could say anything else, Jack disappeared in a shimmer of blue.

 

 

*̞̼͉̩̙͎̬̻̻̓̄̊̍̅̊͊̆ͧ̈*̜͖̮̩̮͓̱̠̉̈ͥ̀*̙͈͕͚̟̟̖̥̫̲̟̮̄̎̇ͬ̋́ͤͦ̋*͙͚̝̪͓̱ͬͮ̊̎ͬ͊ͯ̐̐͌ͅ*̹̼̫͚̙͍͛̾͂͆ͨͧ̿̓ ͓̥̞̲̦̫̖̟̩̟̟̜̣͙̪̜̹̖͛̓̋̾̉̓̒ͤ̄͂ͥ͊̔͒ͥ̈ͨͅ ̣̰͎͙̠̭͉̺ͬ͋ͥ͗͑̏̈͆͂ͪ̓ͫͅ ̤̣̩̯̠͙̱̳̼͈̞̥ͫ͂́̾̏̒͒ͬ͛͑̃̇̾̚ ̳̰̝͓͕̹̖̑ͬ̀ͧͫ ̜̘̩̹̾ͦ̉̈͒ͦ̓ͪ̃̾̑ͬ͑͂͂̑̇̄ͩ*͍͚̥̹̘̺̜̭͑͒͂͌͑̐̊̊ͭ͂*̘̠̘̙̳̩̠͕̜͉̩̩̬̟̐ͣͯ̅ͨͪ̽͒̄̆ͩ̽*̝̬͕̣̲͚͔̖̈́ͯ̑ͧ̒ͥ̾ͤͮ̈̓̅̂͌̓͛*͖͕̘͕̙̻͕̞́ͮͯ͗̌͑ͬ̉̑̈́ͥ*̞͖̠̤̠̖͉̜͇͉͈̥̃ͪ̑ͣ̓͒͊ ͙̖͙͕͖͈̥͓̮̫̜̙͇̳̞͎́͛̋̌́ͮ͛ͥ̊ͦ̋ͫ̔ ̪͈̬͚̥͖͉̦ͬ̓̄̿̉̀̃͒̈́̾͂͑̎ ͈̳̤̩̺̲̙͔ͭ̽̓̅̊ͮ́͂̔͆ͩ̀̆́̑ͮ ͙̼̜͙̼̖͙̜̹̲̽̏͂͋ ̪̝͖̳͖̩͔̦͔̺͕ͭ̇ͮ̅ͧͣ̂̌̾*̙̜͖̮̗̯͙̤͎̞̯͍͚ͤ̅͆̉*̩̼͍͔͕͚͈͕̈́̎̍͗ͫͯͪ͊̈̿ͮ͌ͥ̏̉̄ͤ̎*̥͎͚̲̱̖̦̬̲̣̦͍̂̂́̇̚*̗͍͙̫̮̭̺̮͓̺̭͉̦͕̹̄̉͗͂̓ͪ͑ͅ*̤̦̯̮̫͎̮̖̘ͩ͂ͮͬ͑̈̑

 

 

Making it to the prison floor took more effort then Rhys would ever be willing to admit to Fiona. And then, once he did make it there, he was lucky his Rhysquise managed to stay together long enough for him to get the guard out of the room. From there, finding the " _ Jack Hole _ " was actually pretty easy, and it didn't take too much more time figuring out how to disable the many, many, deadly traps as well.

"So this is it then, right? I just have to climb up this thing, hope to hell none of those things decide to come back on, grab the Gortys upgrade- and then we're on our way back to Pandora."

"And directly to Vallory's waiting arms. I can't wait." Fiona added. She was very good at saying things in a way that you wanted to believe she meant sarcastically, but for some reason it sounded like she was dead serious.

"Yeah... do we have a plan for that yet or?"

"Nope. Wingin' it. Like usual."

"Of course. When you're good at something-"

"- why stop?" Fiona finished for him. "So how are you planning to reach the ladder by the way?"

Rhys craned his neck, look up the shoot of death. "That is a very good question, I don't know."

"Sounds like a job for me!" Gortys spoke up in her usual excited tone, completely catching Rhys off guard as she placed herself directly under the hatch. "Climb on up, Rhys, I'll give you a boost!"

"Oh, well, alright." Rhys started to carefully crawl his way on top of the robot until he was perched awkwardly on top of her head area. "I guess this pretty easy on you anyways since robots don't feel pain, right?"

Gortys gave one of her infectiously cute laughs. "Oh no, this is actually excruciatingly painful! But hey, I'm a team player."

"Of course you are..." Rhys mumbled under his breath.

"So speaking of plans- are you sure you trust Jack on this?" Fiona asked it like it was something she'd been trying to keep to herself.

Rhys' jaw tightened as he tried to maintain his balance. "I can't say we have much of a choice. I- I honestly don't know if we can trust him, and I don't actually know if I do, or even if I don't trust him myself. But he's all we got, Fiona."

"That answer doesn't really strike confidence in me, Rhys. Kinda puts me a little on edge actually."

"Sorry, it's the only answer I have. Just... just know that you don't have to trust him- just trust me instead. I'm gonna go up there- get the Gortys piece, and then I'm coming back down here as fast as I can."

"Promise?" 

"Fiona, I would pinky promise you, except I'm already up here, and I want you to keep your hand on that lever at all times so we don't end up with actual Rhys' pieces here." Rhys managed a genuine smile, in hopes that would better get across how serious he was being. "Just have a little faith in me, at the very least."

Fiona sighed, then rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, now just get up there and get this done already. We don't want my arm getting tired, now do we?" 

"No we do not. Ready when you are, Gortys."

"Really? Okay! Here goes..."

Rhys yelled loudly as he was punted half way up the shoot, and then proceeded to fall almost completely out of the shoot before his cybernetic hand managed to grab hold of the last rung.

"Oops- sorry, Rhys!" Gortys called up after him as he slowly managed to drag his way up the ladder, shaking from the sudden jolt of adrenaline. What a perfect start to an already sketchy plan.

One awkward echo from August later, and Rhys finally made it to the top of the escape hatch, and from there, he was finally standing in Handsome Jack's office. Once he was standing on solid floor again, he found himself... underwhelmed, honestly. Which seemed... odd. This was Handsome Jack's office after all, he should feel... well, elation maybe? Wonder? Amazement? Maybe a little star struck at the least. But all and all he just felt... like this wasn't anything new. Even the view of Pandora's moon, Elpis, seemed like something he'd seen before enough times that the charm was gone.

Of course, already sitting in the big chair was Jack's holographic projection. "Congrats, kid- you finally made it. My office! What d'ya think? Pretty neat, huh?"

Rhys tried to think of something to say, certain that if he waited long enough, a response would come, but after a stretch of silence, he just found himself shrugging. "It's... nice?" Probably shouldn't have phrased it like a question.

"It's... nice..." Jack slowly repeated back as Rhys hesitantly made his way toward the man's desk. "Well... I can't exactly argue with that description. It's a little under kept, I admit, and all the lights are dimmed or off so it looks dismal- but when it was in its prime, this place was a beauty."

Rhys didn't bother humouring Jack with a response, and instead started to poke around the man's desk. "Who's this?" He pointed at the framed photo to Jack's right.

"Hm? Oh... that's my Angel." Jack actually looked sad as he looked at the photo.

"You don't like people knowing about her," Rhys said, looking at Jack's hologram with a complicated expression. 

"No... I don't." Jack's face become unreadable as he eyed Rhys.

Rhys forced a smile, "I guess we've been sharing the same head for a while."  _ You and I are pals now. _ "Maybe I'm starting to know you a little too well."  _ When all this is over, I'd like to check up on her... If that's okay ͝w̷i͠th ҉you͡. _ "Of course, I think it's sweet that you care about so much." Rhys pressed a hand to his forehead as he felt a sudden pressure there, swaying as he tried to focus on the area around him. "I..." Rhys curled the toes of his left foot, only just noticing that he didn't have his boot. It was a strange detail to only just notice, except... he remembered, back in Old Haven, Fiona had given it back to him. Hadn't she?

He didn't even notice the shift in Jack's expression, or the AI slowly getting to his feet. In fact, Rhys hardly notice anything as he spun on his heel and started to make his way to the right side of the room, down another small set of stairs where a shelves crammed with trinkets and trophies hung on the wall. "The Gortys piece, you said it would be over here didn't you?"

"Sure I did." Replied the AI that actually hadn't said anything like that at all. In fact, Jack had barely said more than a few words since Rhys crawled his way into the office. 

Rhys gave his forehead one more squeeze before bringing Gortys up on his palm display. "Okay, Gortys, I'm gonna show you some items, I'll need you tell me which one is your piece."

"Can do! Wow, I can't wait to get my new part, I bet it's gonna look great on me! Oh, I wonder if it'll give me new legs- even bigger ones!"

Rhys rolled his eyes in good humour as he turned his attention back to the various shelves, only to find Jack standing directly in front of him. "Um, you need to move so I can start looking. Believe it or not, you don't actually make the best window, Jack."

"I don't think you need to see to find the piece. I bet, if you just reached out on random, you'd grab the right one object first try." Jack crossed his arms over his chest, making it clear he had no intention of moving out of Rhys' way.

"Jack, I don't have time for this, get out of my way."

"Prove me wrong then." Jack challenged him.

Rhys' jaw tightened, but then he figured it would probably be easier if he just humoured the AI. "Fine, but no making any weird jokes since I'll need to reach through you."

Jack cracked a half smile, "no promises," he said with a wink.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Rhys tilted his head back and to the side so he didn't have to make eye contact with the insufferable hologram as he reached forward through Jack's digital form. His fingers brushed across a metallic object, and he considered grabbing the one next to it instead, but decided it would be faster to just go with the first choice, his hand closing about the object as he straightened, holding it up between himself and Jack. "Happy?"

Jack titled his head toward Rhys' open feed. "Show it to the little robot."

"Fine." Rhys shifted his gaze, holding the item up to the screen. "Here, Gortys, what do you think about this."

She gasped, bouncing in spot. "That's it! Rhys, that's my piece! Awh, it looks so cute! I can't wait to put it on!"

Rhys ended the connection, letting his cybernetic hand fall down to his side as he stared at the object in his other hand. "Interesting," Jack said, before passing through Rhys and heading back toward the desk.

Rhys swallowed, wetting his lips as he turned, following the hologram with his eyes. "You knew this was Gortys' piece, didn't you?"

Jack leaned against the desk with his arms crossed again. "Of course I knew. But isn't the real question- how did you know? Look at the shelves, they are cluttered with possibilities, and yet that's the one you picked."

He tried to argue, but no words came out. Looking over his shoulder, he was stunned at just how cluttered the shelves actually were. If he had been trying to figure out which one he was going for by using his own eyes, he doubted he could have distinguished any of them apart. "But... " 

"Listen, kid, just come over here, and maybe I'll be able to explain a few things to you. Come on," Jack waved Rhys over, and after a few moments of hesitation, he complied. Jack continued to give commands through body language rather than words, until Rhys was finally settled in the plush, golden chair, and Jack was sitting across from him. "How does it feel, by the way- sitting in the big chair?"

Rhys shifted, settling into the chair a bit more. "Feels like a damn chair." He responded in a less than kind tone. Still, he found himself relaxing a bit more than he expected, he honestly couldn't remember the last time he felt this comfortable.  _ That would be the contact dopamine injectors _ . "Seriously?" His eyes snapped open.

Jack blinked at him, looking put off by Rhys apparently sudden outburst. "Yup. I'm being entirely serious, kiddo."

"Wow. Seems a little over the top to me. But you do have a trap door, so I guess it's all apart of the aesthetic or whatever." Rhys sighed, drumming his fingers against the arms of the chair. At the very least it was helping with reducing the ache in his head. "So how do I get the trap door to open up again?"

"Buttons right behind your pinky there- but I was kind of hoping for an answer first. Seeing as this might be the last chance we get for a while."

Rhys frowned, eyeing the space behind his pinky before looking back at Jack. "What question?"

"What ques- the one I just asked, that you think is so over the top?"

It was Rhys turn to blink in mild confusion before coughing and clearing his throat. "Oh, that... that question, right...  _ well _ , maybe you could just repeat it again, y'know, that way I know exactly what I'm... replying to..."

"Okay... I,  _ Jack, _ wanted to know if you,  _ Rhys _ ,” Jack started in a slow and overly patronizing tone, “would be willing run Hyperion with me." Jack raised a hand before Rhys could even open his mouth, "now, like I was about to say before you cut me off- I know we've had our differences. Quite a few of them actually, but I also think, you and me? Together? We could get Hyperion back to its former glory. Hell, my brains and your... mobility- we could make it better than before. All I need, is you to say yes." 

Rhys swallowed, floored by the request- and already forgetting that he had misheard Jack the first time. Jack wanted to run Hyperion with him? He wanted to give Rhys Hyperion. "Jack, I-"

"You don't have to decide right this second. I admit, it's a pretty heavy question. But also, this is what you've been looking for- all your career, all your life, it's all lead you here. I mean, you went through hell down there on Pandora, it's only fair you should get something out of it, right? Rhysie, this is what you deserve."

It was wasn't? But he still felt like saying yes was the wrong choice. He still needed to get back to Fiona, and give Gortys her piece. And then there was Vaughn- he still needed find him, make sure he was safe- so many people were depending on him, he didn't have time to think about himself right now. "There's gotta be a catch somewhere, right?"  _ Please, give me a reason to say no. _

"What? No-  _ well _ ," Jack bobbled his head with a coy grin that made Rhys' stomach twist. "Some people might consider a partnership as a catch, especially since it'll be with me, and I can be a little... out there. But hey, I feel like with all this time we've been spending together, we kind of level each other out, right? I can be a little quick to act, but you- you're good at assessing a situation, so really, I don't even think there is a catch. We're a match made in heaven, Rhysie." There was a pause, while Rhys continued to think over what Jack was offering. "C'mon, make up your mind already. There's only two choices here- and frankly I'm getting a little tired of the latter one. You wanna spice things up? Just pick the top choice already."

"The... what?" Rhys shifted, almost as if he were about to get up before he started to feel dizzy and rested back into the chair. "I... I'll do it. I'll be your partner, Jack."

"Alright! Now that's what I'm talking about! You know, it was a little touch and go there, but damn, I knew you'd come around. Okay, so you're gonna wanna take that device there right over your shoulder and plug it into your port, then bing, bang, boom, we're in. You will officially be the CEO of Hyperion. Well, co-CEO." Jack seemed to be in an impossibly good mood as Rhys reached for the device, giving it an ertain look as he slowly inched it towards his port. It was only about half way there that he noticed Jack's expression darkening. "C'mon, kid, what's the hold up- ignore that, and just jam it in already. I have been waiting too damn long for this- I am tired, okay? I am tired of fighting for this. Just do it already."

Rhys actually tried to make it move faster, but his hand didn't respond, and just continued to slowly inch the device closer. And then just like that, his hand let go of the device altogether and he was standing up, his world blurring as he felt a sharp pain in his head again. "Jack!" Rhys cried, pressing his hands against the either side of his head and squeezing.

"Sit your ass back down in that chair, Rhys."

"I- I can't, Jack- make it stop!" I'm not sitting down unless- you're a maniac!- I'm leaving, Jack- Just lemme go, please! "It hurts! Make it stop!"

"Dammit, you can't make anything easy, can you!? You keep this up you're gonna crash the entire program, you idiot. The more you contradict every action, the more you restart-he's deteriorating you absolute moron! Put him in the chair!" Jack was yelling, his voice glitching, doubling over itself, sounding normal, and then amplified again. "You want him in pain? I can do that! Easy, simple! Whatever it is you're trying to achieve I can do it! You just have to let me!"

Rhys winced, feeling tears as the entire world seemed to warp for a moment, and then he was sitting back down in the chair, hands on the arms rest, his mind still aching, and pounding like a war drum. "Jack-"

"Thank you." He sounded almost sarcastic, at the very least acidic as he raised a holographic hand- Rhys' cybernetic hand following the action to a T, and without hesitation. Then, he reached across himself, grabbing the device and jamming it into his port, the same motion being perfectly mimed by Jack. There wasn't even so much as a delay between the two any more. It was immediate. Precise.

His teeth clenched as he felt a shock from the connection, manacles coming out of the armrests and binding him to the chair by the wrists. Jack's holo-form disappeared. But his voice- his laugh rang out across the room as the large monitor came to life."Finally! Back in the system! Full access-  _ everything _ . Your mistake actually. Because during every single one of those resets, I never once lost any memory. And in my down time, I decided to take a peek into your other files! Found some pretty interesting concepts. Like the ' _ New-U _ '. Very interesting."

Rhys pulled at the bindings, still having no idea who Jack was actually talking too, but as long as the man displayed on the screen above him was distracted, it meant Rhys had a chance to try and escape. "Rhys? Rhys are you there? What's taking so long?"

_ Fiona! Fiona, I have to ask her- I need to tell her- _ "Oh, right, almost forgot about her, a bit more delayed than usual, actually, hmm, now how do I do this now that I'm out here, and not inside that head of yours..."

"Fiona-" Rhys started but Jack cut him off in a booming voice.

"- I know! Let's apply some of this knowledge I have!" The AI on screen had a wicked grin as a panel in the ceiling opened up, and what looked like a projector ascended directly over the desk. "In 3, 2, 1..." Jack's fingers snapped in unison as the projector hummed to life, rattling before a beam shone down and digital sound accompanied it as it started to initialize some sort of digistruction. Rhys' heart thudded against his chest, a lump in his throat as he realized it wasn't a regular holo-projector, nor was it you're average digi-constructor. 

"Tada- Daddy's finally home!" Handsome Jack stood on the desk, flesh and blood, and more real than Rhys ever expected to see the man. Or ever wanted to see the man. Jack casually raised a hand, ending the reverb from the still present blue AI over his shoulder; the holo-Jack now becoming nothing more than a still image on the screen. "I wouldn't bother trying to shut down the game, player. It won't work this time." Jack smirked over his shoulder before jumping down off his desk, eyeing Rhys up and down like a skag might eye a heat stricken bandit lost in the badlands. "Mind if I-?" Jack reached out for the echo emitter in Rhys' ear, to which Rhys immediately tried to pull away, even managing to plant his feet on the floor and try to move the chair back. Jack's hand came down on the back of the chair, stopping it's movement. "Nice try, but I actually remembered the wheels this time, kiddo." 

"This isn't possible- you can't actually-" Rhys tried to reason, but the moment Jack leaned in closer, Rhys wasn't even sure he could remember how to breath.

"Sorry, kid, I really don't have the time- or the desire, actually- to explain everything to you." Jack pulled the emitter from Rhys' ear, rubbing it on his sleeve before bringing it in front of his lips. "Hey there... uh, sister with the hat- wow, I can remember pretty much everything and yet names still elude me! Anyways, sorry but Rhys can't come to the phone right now, he's a little held up at the moment."

"Jack, please-"

"And I'm little busy myself, so why don't you just take a load off, relax. I'm sure I'll have time to deal with you later." Rhys knew that smile was meant to make him panic, make him fear what exactly Jack was trying to imply with that sentence. Jack flicked the emitter away, and he couldn't even hear where it landed. "Now, time to make a little announcement, huh? I mean, you're still gonna be my co, right, buddy? After all, I don't really like to go back on my word, and the originally designated plan, ehh, seems a little unnecessary and archaic now. So sit tight, kitten." Jack squeezed Rhys' face with his hand, and Rhys immediately responded by shaking out of his grip.

"Don't touch me." Rhys snapped, his mind still not able to really process what was actually going on, but like hell he was going to react with anything other than spite. 

"Awh, Rhysie, baby, don't be like that. You were my biggest fan once, weren't you? You should be happy! Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you. Well, actually, that would be a lie, I absolutely do plan on hurting you- but I won't kill you." Jack tapped a finger against his lips, clearly contemplating the statement. "Mm, might have to take that back too, actually. I'm not a hundred percent sure what I am gonna do with you in all honesty. Never actually thought I’d get this far, this is actually kinda weird. Finally gain omnipotence, and I don’t even know what to do with it.”

“ _ What _ are you talking about? What the hell is going on?” Rhys was genuinely interested in knowing the answer to his question, but at the same time, the longer he kept Jack monologuing, the better his chances were that Fiona might come to his rescue.

“Let’s just say, when people tell you life’s a game- they're

 

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k̷̘̩͉̱̱͔̰̹̩͙̅ͩ̌̊̀ͫ͂̃͢͠i̷̴̻͈͎̰̦̫̞̬̥͔̘̦̹̙͉̊̿ͯ̈ͦͥ̓͠ḏ̴̡̪̹͙̣̬̠̲͈͆ͣ͒̍̇̍͒̀͐̐̓ͩͨ̚dͦ̆̓͐̈́ͥ̇ͣ̃̀͊̂͘͠҉͔̠̣̘͎̘͚̩̘̺̯͖̻̘i̧̪̼̱̜̣͓͍̮̣ͨ̈͛ͪ̽ͭ̏̐͜͢n̔̐̉͌҉̷̛̖̱̬̺͖̝͔̜͙̞̻̥͈̭g̨̛̦̰͙̳̝͕̖̲͉̠̝̥̿̐͛̒̈́ͤͣ͋̃ͪ̕͟ͅ."


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